Breathe better in cold weather

Supporting your child with Asthma

Many people experience an increase in asthma symptoms and find their asthma harder to control when the air turns cold. During the school holidays, it is a good time to get a check with your GP to assess your child's asthma to help prevent flare ups.

Asthma causes the muscles in the airways to tighten and the lining of the airway becomes swollen and inflamed, producing sticky mucous. These changes cause the airways to become narrow, making it difficult to breathe.

Asthma can be triggered by a range of factors such as pollen, house dust mites, cigarette smoke, exercise or associated with a cold.

Asthma cannot be cured, but with good management, people with asthma can lead normal, active lives. A range of programs and services are available to support people with asthma.

It is important to have your child assessed regularly by your doctor if they have asthma, especially during the colder weather when viruses are more common.

Asthma Action Plans are required to be provided by parents to the school if your child is diagnosed with asthma. This ensures we support your child's health needs appropriately.

They should be updated annually or if there are any changes to your child's asthma needs.

Keep taking care of your child's asthma - this helps keeps their lungs healthy

Symptoms of asthma

Asthma tends to run in families. Asthma affects everyone differently, and two children from the same family can have different asthma patterns and triggers. Typical asthma symptoms include:

Wheezing – a whistling noise when breathing.
Shortness of breath.
A tight feeling in the chest.
Coughing.

These symptoms are often worse at night, in the early morning or during exercise. Symptoms may be different for children. Find out more about asthma in children.

Asthma triggers

The triggers for asthma symptoms vary for different people. Some common triggers are:

Allergy triggers such as house dust mites, pollens, pets and moulds.
Cigarette smoke.
Viral infections – for example, colds and flu.
Cold air or changes in the weather.
Work-related triggers – for example, wood dust, chemicals, metal salts.
Some medication.

In addition, asthma can also be triggered by an uncommon combination of high grass pollen levels and a certain type of thunderstorm, causing many people to develop asthma symptoms over a short period of time. This is known as epidemic thunderstorm asthma.

These events are uncommon and don’t occur every year, but when they do, they can happen in south-east Australia during the grass pollen season, from October through December.

Treatment for asthma

Asthma can be well controlled with the appropriate medication in almost all people. The main types of asthma medication are:

Relievers that act quickly to relax the muscles around the airways – this is the medication used during an asthma attack.
Preventers that slowly make the airways less sensitive to triggers and reduce inflammation inside the airways – they are taken daily to help keep you well.
Combination therapies that are preventers containing two different medicines.

Using a spacer with your inhaler ensures medication is distributed more effectively throughout the lungs and therefore gives a better response.

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Management of asthma

Your GP will prescribe the correct medication and explain how to use it.

For good asthma management, it is important that you:

See your GP for regular check-ups and work together to manage your asthma.
Understand what triggers your asthma – this can be different for everyone.
Try to avoid or reduce your exposure to these triggers.
Use your medications as instructed by your GP, even when you feel well.
Make sure you are using your inhaler correctly, including using a spacer where required.
Follow your written asthma action plan.

Ask your GP for a personal written asthma action plan. As well as being a reminder of your usual treatment, an action plan helps you to recognise worsening asthma and tells you what to do in response.

If your child has asthma, give copies of the action plan to the school and to anyone else who regularly looks after your child.

Watch this video to learn more about good asthma management from the National Asthma Council.

What to do during an asthma attack or flare-up

An asthma attack can come on gradually (for example, if a person gets a cold) or quite quickly (for example, if a person inhales something they are allergic to, such as pollen).The symptoms to look out for include:

Increasing wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing.
Needing to use a reliever again within three hours of last taking it.
Waking often at night with asthma symptoms.

An asthma attack can become life threatening if not treated properly, even in someone whose asthma is usually mild or well controlled.

If someone is getting an asthma attack, follow the instructions in their asthma action plan. If they don’t have an action plan or you aren’t sure what to do, follow the four steps of asthma first aid.

Always call an ambulance in an asthma emergency

In an emergency, always call triple zero (000) and ask for an ambulance. Tell the operator that someone is having an asthma attack. The signs of an asthma emergency include when the person:

Finds it very difficult to breathe.
Is unable to speak comfortably or if their lips are turning blue.
Has symptoms that get worse very quickly.
Is getting little or no relief from their reliever inhaler.

While waiting for the ambulance, continue to follow the 4 steps of asthma first aid and give 4 puffs of reliever medication every 4 minutes.

If you have any concerns regarding your child's asthma and support required at school, please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss further.

cecile.elliott@education.vic.gov.au

Phone : 9592 0177

French

Alfred Calleja and Nunzia Esposito